Thankful For...

We have so many things to be thankful for this year! We are thankful for our health, friends, family, and of course, the ability to bring another little boy into our family. Our plans to bring Matthew home are moving right along. I did have a few problems with getting a doctor to allow me to make a copy of their medical license and that is all solved now.
Wonderful news! Our dossier is finally ready to be shipped off to our agency. It feels so good to finally have all of that paperwork complete. Next up will be a date to bring Matthew home. We are so thankful.

Finally Friday

We've had a long two days and it feels good to finally relax in our hotel room. Knowing that we made the right decision for our family also feels good. Our new little guy is so sweet and loves to smile and laugh. Reminds us a lot of Luke.
All of our paperwork is complete for this trip and we played with our son one last time before heading to the hotel. If all goes well, we'll be back to get him in February. That gives us time to prepare for him and enjoy time with Luke and Sarah.
These trips are so exhausting and we look forward to being back home. We now have our family complete and Matthew Alexander is such a gift!

Tough Decisions

Scott and I had to make a very difficult decision this morning. Adoption is never easy and you have to be very strong. We had to go with our instincts and decline the boy we had been matched with. For adoptive parents who've been where we are, you know how emotional this is. At first, we "talked" ourselves into being the family that could handle this boy and be able to give h a good home. After hours of thinking and researching; we decided to say no. The next few hours were very sad for both of us. We've come so far and the thought of leaving behind a child is not taken lightly. We feel blessed to have 2 wonderful children and we'll have to see where our path leads.

Day 2

We got to visit the orphanage again this morning and we made progress today. Playing outside for 2 hours was refreshing and we learned a lot about our little guy. It's as if a whole new boy came out. He played soccer with us and laughed a lot! Luke will love having a soccer playmate. He also told the other children that we were his mama and papa. So sweet.
Now to come up with a name and relax a little before tomorrow comes.

Waiting...

I forgot how many hours we spend waiting while the adoption process happens. We spent 2 short hours at the orphanage and the rest of the time walking around the city in search of a grocery store. Success was found after an hour and we're now stocked up on drinks, cheese, and bread-yum!
Today, we finally got to meet with our little guy. It was nice to finally meet him and have a small chance to play. He is the opposite of Luke because he is so shy and quiet. Some delays are present and we'll need lots of prayers before we make any decisions. We'll speak with the doctors back home tonight and that may help with any questions we may have. We also get to play with him and see him interact with kids tomorrow. Each time I come her, I am thankful for what I have and that Luke is a part of our lives. We appreciate all of your prayers.

United is the Best

We've arrived at our favorite lounge and just waiting for our first part of the trip. United has such a nice lounge and it's a nice way to spend an hour before takeoff.
SanFrancisco, here we come! Can't wait to relax on the plane and do some reading.

Away We Go!

Scott and I will be off in less than 5 hours for our first adoption trip to meet our potential son. Luke was so cute this morning as he made a movie for his "brudder." He is in love with this little guy already. We bought a cute little bear that Luke picked out and he hugged and kissed it a lot before we put the bear in the suitcase. It's such a blessing to have wonderful friends that are looking after Luke while we leave for the next week.

We're both a little nervous to meet our little guy and see if he is a good match for us. We'll say our prayers and way we'll go. Monday afternoon we plan to meet with the Minister of Education. We have a 30 minute interview and the possibility of meeting our son on that same day. What an exciting time that will be!

I'm off to sleep for a few short hours before we are off! We'll take all of the prayers we can get.
Big hugs to all!
Lisa

One Week Until We're Off!

Scott and I have been working like crazy! I can't wait to slow down enough to actually see him. I have my usual school work along with interims and making sub plans for 5 days. I'm super excited that I have a great sub taking over for me. I never like to leave my classroom and they will be in great hands!

This weekend our research begins for questions to ask about this 3 and half year old little sweetie. We have to be prepared with questions, toys, and a few fun food items for the little guy. I also need to pack a suitcase for Luke because he'll be staying with friends while we're away. He's super excited about spending the week with them and that is such a blessing. I wouldn't want him to be sad and we know that he's in good hands.

Gotta go add a few items to my list and do some research!

We have a referral!

About a week ago we were given a referral of a little boy! We were a little shocked to find out that he is only 3 years old. We were hoping for a 5-6 year old boy and we had to think quite a bit before making our decision. We decided to go forward and visit him. This time around, our adoption process is going so quickly. The referral came faster than we thought and now we already have our travel date!

It's going to be an exciting trip because we get to fly through Korea. I get to check another country off of my list. We're checking for short tours that get us a little taste of Seoul. We have less than 24 hours in the country and I hope to get to a few temples and market areas.

So, our heads are swimming with so much to do. We have our visas being processed, ticket reservations for our flight, and now we're searching for a hotel in Vladivostok. We'll be staying there for a week and getting a chance to meet with this boy and see if he's a good fit for our family.
We appreciate any prayers because this is always a tiring process with so much to accomplish in such a short time.

Now we Wait...

Our fingerprints are finished and all went smoothly this time around. I contacted our agency and now the only thing to do is wait. It feels good and we have to relish this time. It seems like there is always a paper that needs to be notarized or an appointment to be made. So, while we wait, we'll just dream about what our son or daughter may look like or how they are doing. Luke prays for him (yes, he really wants a brother) every night and tells him that we love him and we're coming soon. It's enough to melt your heart. Luke has been such a blessing and we'll have to wait for our next blessing to arrive!

We have our appointment to get fingerprints!! This is always a big step in the adoption process and it feels good that it is happening so quickly. The appointment is on the first day that I have to return to school. I won't be changing it though because this is an important appt. to keep! All of our papers are in Russia and now we're just waiting to hear some news. I can't believe that this is going so fast. Keep those prayers coming!

Where will we be adopting from this time?

Many friends have asked about where we'll adopt from this time. We have decided to explore a different region in Russia and we'll be traveling to Vladivostok this time. Here is some information about it.

Vladivostok is Russia's largest port city on the Pacific Ocean and the administrative center of the Primorsky Kraj region. It is situated at the head of the Golden Horn Bay not far from Russia's border with China and North Korea. It is also the home port of the Russian Pacific fleet. Their time zone is 15 hours ahead of eastern time.

Average temperature in January: −13.2 °C (8.2 °F)
Average temperature in August: 20.6 °C (69.1 °F)


In 2012, Vladivostok will host the 24th Summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. In preparation for the event, the infrastructure of the city is being renovated and improved. Two giant cable-stayed bridges are currently under construction in Vladivostok, namely the Zolotoy Rog bridge over the Zolotoy Rog Bay in the center of the city, and the Russky Island Bridge from the mainland to Russky Island, where the summit will take place. The latter bridge will become the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world upon completion.

i600A Sent Off

Once again, FedEx is our favorite friend right now. We have sent off our i600A to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Now we must wait 2 months to hear back from them and receive their acceptance. Once we get this, we're given a date and time for our official fingerprints.

All of the initial paperwork is complete and I'm so glass that I have the summer off to accomplish that. It always feels good to be at this point of the process and have time to take a deep breath and relax. We hope to hear news about a little brother or sister soon. It would be nice to travel in October or November for our first trip.

Off to enjoy more of the summer...

Happy Fourth of July

Luke enjoyed being with our family in Nebraska. He hadn't been to a parade like this yet and it was fun to see him so excited. He caught lots of candy with his cousins and had a huge smile all day long. Fireworks are one of his favorite things and we got a great show in Waverly!

Here We Go Again!

Scott and I decided to begin another adoption and our home study is now complete! We would love any prayers as we enter this process again. We are hoping that we are just as blessed as we were with the first adoption with Luke. He is such a joy to our family and he longs to have a brother or sister. Yes, we are open to having a boy or a girl this time. We are asking for a child that Luke can play with and a 4-5 year old would be ideal!

Luke prays each night and tells me that he is ok with sharing his bed. He even scoots over and tells me that his brother is going to sleep their one day. He has such a big heart!

This week we're working on filling out over 13 papers to send off to be apostilled! This sure is easier the second time around when we know how to do all of this and how to get all of the documents needed. Having the summer off is also very helpful when running to the notary at the bank and the doctor visits.

We'll keep you posted on any news!!

Mother's Day

The best gift this Mother's Day... a car wash! Luke helped Scott with washing both of the cars. What a nice treat on a beautiful day. Luke is growing in so many ways and I love being called a Mom.

Gotcha Day - 2 years!

We can't believe that we've had Luke for 2 years now! He is such a joy to our family.